Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a sensor that detects a person who comes close to the image forming apparatus, a control method thereof, and a storage medium.
Description of the Related Art
Among current image forming apparatuses, there is an image forming apparatus that is returned from a power saving state when a person is detected in front of the apparatus by a sensor, and performs control to reduce the return time felt by the user. However, such a sensor can detect a passerby simply passing in front of the apparatus and can erroneously return the apparatus from a power saving state. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-114499 proposes a technique in which, after the sensor provided in the image forming apparatus detects a person coming close to the apparatus, the sensor causes the image forming apparatus to return from a power saving state by determining that the person has stopped in front of the image forming apparatus. More specifically, it proposes a technique of returning the image forming apparatus from the power saving state by determining that a person has stopped in front of the image forming apparatus when a pyroelectric sensor capable of detecting human motion cannot detect the person anymore.
The above-described related art, however, has a problem as described below. For example, in the related art, an operator in front of the apparatus must wait there until the image forming apparatus is returned from the power saving state since the image forming apparatus is returned from the power saving state after it is determined that the operator of image forming apparatus has stopped in front of the apparatus. The return time, in this case, is no different from the return time of a case in which the image forming apparatus is returned from the power saving state after the user has operated an operation panel or the like. Thus, the full effect of returning the image forming apparatus from a power saving state in advance by detecting a person with a sensor cannot be obtained.